Make Your Pączki at Home With This Traditional Polish Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What was the original paczki flavor? ›

Powidła (stewed plum jam) and wild rose petal jam are traditional fillings, but many others are used as well, including strawberry, Bavarian cream, blueberry, custard, raspberry, and apple. Pączki have been known in Poland at least since the Middle Ages.

Paczki vs Donuts

The difference between paczki and donuts is the ingredients in their dough. Paczki uses an extra amount of enriching ingredients, yeast, grain alcohol, and high-gluten flour. Together, these create a richer-than-brioche dough, but far chewier with little to no crumbs.

This day is celebrated by indulging in the traditional Polish jelly-filled pastry known as a pączek (PON-check). The more commonly used name for these is pączki (POONCH-kee), which is the plural pronunciation for this sweet treat. Pączki are made from richer yeast dough that won't collapse when you bite into it.

The most popular paczki are custard filled or filled with fresh strawberries and cream.

What's the difference between paczki and sufganiyot? In Poland, jelly doughnuts are called paczki which means flower buds. Traditionally, they were fried in lard which sets them apart from sufganiyot, which are fried in oil.

noun. , plural pacz·ki. a traditional Polish doughnut, filled with jam or another sweet filling and covered with powdered sugar or icing.

Paczki (Jelly Donuts) Don't wait until Paczki Day (aka Fat Tuesday or Mardis Gras) to enjoy one of these soft traditional Polish donuts filled with jelly, custard, or other delicious fillings! Paczki are homemade jelly donuts are even better than the ones you can get at your favorite local bakery.

The nutritional facts of paczki are hard to pin down because the size and ingredients vary. Spectrum Health registered dietitian Jill Graybill said they have 400 to 700 calories and 25 grams of fat or more. That's roughly a third of the calories and fat recommended in a healthy 1,800- to 2,000-calorie diet.

Before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, Catholic Poles celebrated Fat Thursday, a time to use up “luxurious” foods like lard and sugar before Lenten fasting began and they could no longer eat them. Since at least the Middle Ages, the paczek has provided a delicious way to do just that.

Repeat process with remaining paczki and filling. Dust with powdered sugar or granulated sugar. If using a dairy-based filling, store in the refrigerator. Pazcki are best on the day they are fried, particularly if your oil is not hot enough.

What does Fat Thursday mean in Poland? ›

During Fat Thursday, people would meet their friends and relatives and eat large quantities of sweets, cakes, and other meals that usually not eaten during Lent. Among the most popular all-national dishes served on that day, you should not miss your chance to enjoy pączki and faworki.

Pączki are very rich donuts, deep fried and then filled with fruit or cream filling and covered with powdered sugar or icing. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent.

"When you eat it, it doesn't collapse. It fluffs right back up." In a Smithsonian article from February of 2023, Bielinski noted that paczki dough is richer and denser than a doughnut. It's complemented by a sweet fruit preserve filling, a thin glaze on top, a hint of orange or lemon peel, or even a trace of rose.

Sufganiyot are similar to Germany's Berliners and Poland's pączki. They are filled with various creams or jelly fillings, and they are usually served during Hanukkah. But they can also be enjoyed year-round.

Shelf Life: 3 days at ambient. 365 days frozen.

Any fried-in-the-fat pączki lover will tell you that a bismarck and a pączki are not one and the same. Nor is a doughnut and a pączki one and the same. Sure, they may look alike but that's where the similarity ends. Pączki are made with a richer dough that has more eggs and sugar and they're cut larger, without a hole.

What: Koblihy are beloved local pastries, similar to American doughnuts (though perhaps closer to Polish paczki): round and sweet and filled with fruity jam.

Traditionally, they are filled with rose petal jam or plum jam, but here in the U.S. you can find them filled with pretty much any fruit or cream filling. In Poland, they're enjoyed on Fat Thursday, while here, you'll typically enjoy them on Fat Tuesday!